U.S. Quidditch Cup, based on Harry Potter books, headed to Texas in 2018

The Keele Squirrels (in green) play the Radcliffe Chimeras during the Crumpet Cup quidditch tournament on Clapham Common on February 18, 2017 in London, England. Quidditch is the fictional game played by Hogwarts students in JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels. In 2005 two college students in Vermont created "Muggle Quidditch" to be played on a field for non-magical participants. The sport took off and is now played by hundreds of teams across the world with a global cup competition every two years. True to the original game two teams of seven players sitting astride "broomsticks". Each team has to advance the quaffle ball to one of three opposing hoops against bludgers who knock out the players. The game is won when the snitch (a tennis ball in a sock) is caught and whoever has the most points wins. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

“We are honored to host the players, families and fans in Round Rock for the U.S. Quidditch Cup in April 2018,” Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Nancy Yawn said in a release. “How exciting that the year of the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter, the Sports Capital of Texas gets to announce that the magical, competitive Quidditch national championships will be held here!”

U.S. Quidditch announced finalists for the location of the cup in May, which included Lubbock, Round Rock and Wichita Falls. The finalists were selected based on bids, which were evaluated on location of the bid, the quality of facilities, the amount of financial support and the level of community support, according to the release. Round Rock beat out the others mainly because of the ample room of its facility, it says.

Though Round Rock has yet to start its own official team, the Austin area is home to two national championship winning teams: Texas Quidditch and Texas Cavalry. In the 2016-17 season, Texas had more teams registered with USQ than any other single state in the league, according to U.S. Quidditch.

The Quidditch tournament, which first came to life in 2005, is a real-world adaptation of the game Harry Potter and his friends played in the popular book series. The magical sport involves two teams who “fly on brooms,” competing to score the most goals. It can be described as a cross between rugby, basketball and dodge ball.

Want to learn more about the competition? Find out about tickets and teams here.